Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire
by Deidara the Arrancar Alchemist
Summary: CHAPTER 2 NOW UP! Instead of the Davy Jones' Locker, our favourite pirates end up in Middle Earth. The dangers are doubled, the madness multiplied and the tale twisted. Will the characters from both worlds survive? FOTR-ROTK, & AWE. Movieverse. Enjoy! :D
1. Chapter 1

_Aha! Thanks for stumbling upon my odd crossover! A little bit of extra imfortmation is that to make it easier on myself I decided to not include Tai Hung and the other men working for Sao Feng. I know, lazy huh? But anyway, I sincerly hope you enjoy! The real story really begins after chapter 1. ;)_

Chapter 1 ~

"You've doomed us all!" Elizabeth snarled with a glare at Barbossa.

The old captain grabbed her by the cheeks, his dirty finger nails indenting her soft skin as she looked at him with something like disgust. "Don't be so unkind," Barbossa murmured. "You may not survive to pass this way again, and these be the last friendly words you'll hear."

Elizabeth roughly pulled away from his grasp and leaned cautiously over the damp rail to determine how close their vessel was nearing the Furthest Gate. A shiver of fear crept over her as a fine mist of spray was hurled into her face; the moist, gushing roar of water as it surged forward and tumbled into oblivion was louder than a thousand hissing dragons. The sky that was once adorned in a myriad of stars was now slate black and and as utterly dark as the ferocious water that tugged the _Hai Peng_ forward relentlessly. Elizabeth's heart jumped in her chest: surely they were going to die!

"Tie her off!" she heard Will order nearby. Elizabeth froze and felt a cold sting of guilt and dread. She didn't even have time to tell Will that she loved him, and that with Jack it was just an infatuation, nothing serious, unless perhaps they'd got closer to each other. But it was always going to be Will.

She was about to rush to Will's side when a viscous jolt rocked the ship and she had to throw out her hands for a rope to cling to. It burnt her skin as her palm raked down the cord as she slipped over, but she held on firm, clinging literally for her life.

A few moments previously, the were crew scurrying on board like startled ants after the rock they'd be hiding under was removed and exposed to the sun's blinding rays. Now, with danger a mere leap away, they desperatly clung to ropes, hid below deck, tied themselves down.

Nearby, Tia Dalma clutched her precious crab claws close to her face, mumbling and rambling in Kreyol as she rocked back and forth like a tree caught in a hurricane.

"_Malfaiteur en Tombeau, Crocher l'Esplanade, Dans l'Fond d'l'eau!"_ Then she cast them down with a ratltle upon the table top that swayed side to side with the rough tide, reading the hidden signs revealed only to her shrewd eyes.

With a sickening lurch and deep wooden creak, the _Hai Peng_ was dragged to the precipice. It hang there between life and beyond for a long, painful, stretched out moment, as if time had frozen. She slowly tipped forward, the bowsprit pointing into the abyss, gaining speed as her weight and the monsterous force of the current pulled her down.

And then time sped up and there was nothing between the water and the ship, just empty air which they fell through inthe clutches of gravity. The last thing Elizabeth could recall was her own screaming echoing in her ears and the mad cackle of Barbossa as they crossed the final frontier, down, down, down...

Unknown to the rest of the crew as they tumbled down, a brilliant emerald flash shot up into the sky like a flare, scorching against the black of the night and turning the sea a leeched white. But it was gone in an instant, quicker than the a snap of the fingers. The Green Flash.

**

Barbossa knew before he'd even opened his eyes that something was not right.

For a start, the rush of a huge waterfall crashing over rocks stirred him from his unconciouness. He would have thought they were still at the Furthest Gate if not for the lack of briny sea air. Instead, upon the wind he caught the sweet snatch of lush vegetation - not the tropical, damp forestry found in the Caribbean, but a crisper fresher type of trees. The air too although moist from the nearby waterfall was mild and cool, the breeze light as it tickelled his fluttering eyelids.

When his jaundiced blue eyes snapped open, he saw a blue sky riddled with storm clouds arching overhead, a pair of hawks soaring westwards and screeching. He could feel the hard wet wood of the _Hai Peng _ beneath him and sense it rock on gentle currents - at least the ship was still afloat and in one piece. With a grunt, the old captain sat up and rubbed his eyes.

_What's goin' on 'ere?_ he thought wearily. Clambering to his unsteady feet he gazed around him.

And stood paralysed in shock, jaw slack.

An army of dark green decicious trees rose up before him, marching up a hill that sloped upwards from the pebbled shore of the river. The river itself was very wide and slow-moving, a mass of greyish water that plummeted down over a huge, towering cliff and flowed southwards through wooded hillocks and plains.

This was definetly not Davy Jones Locker. Or anywhere in the Caribbean. Or anywhere that rung a bell for Barbossa, and he had travelled extensivley. And what's more, it didn't feel _right_. The air was softer, the light and shadows either too bright or too dark.

"Where the bloody hell am I?!" Barbossa exclaimed out loud. His hoarse cry rang through the hills and weaved through the trees, and he jolted at the echo of his own voice. A few birds scattered into the sky in alarm.

He heard a soft moan beside him. Looking down sharply, he saw Will Turner wearily throw a hand over his face to shield his eyes from the sun, squinting in the fading light. The young pirate's vision blurred and warped before it cleared, and he flinched a little when Barbossa's weather-beaten face suddenly loomed before him.

"'T'would be better if ye stayed unconcious, lad" Barbossa growled.

Will frowned at the anxious edge in his tone. "What do you mean?"

Barbossa just turned away and grumbled incoherently, his magnificent ragged hat swaying from side to side as he shook his head. Barbossa leaned against the ship's rails and stared into the distance.

Will cocked his head to one side and rose an eyebrow, confused. He sat upright and then he too froze in fright. His dark eyes widened like a fox trapped by hounds, and he yelped and staggered back.

"Are you sure this is Davy Jones Locker?" Will asked Barbossa.

"I'm not sure of anythin' anymore" Barbossa murmured.

Will joined the captain at the rail and narrowed his eyes into the forest. "Where do you propose we are? The charts led to many places. What if we took the wrong way and ended up here?"

"Ya be right, William Turna" said a richly accented, mysterious voice. Both men turned to see Tia Dalma stride towards them, her cat-like eyes absorbing in their new surroundings with curiosity and an eerie smile. It was as if she knew something the others didn't.

"Beyand da Furthest Gate lie many realms," she explained. "It is very easy ta lose whatcha tryin' ta find. Perhaps, Barbossa, ya got a little more lost dan ya planned?"

Barbossa scowled, and she smirked. Will frowned at the captain with a sense of amnosity. _This is ruining my plans. If we can't find Jack soon, then how can I free my father?_

Then Will suddenly stiffened and span around. "Elizabeth" he murmured.

The deck was rather empty, like a ghost town, and it sent a shiver of fear through Will's veins. The crew had appeared to vanish like ghosts into mist. Were they dead? Lost along the way?

But the lack of crew helped him located Elizabeth. He quickly caught sight of his fiance' - or ex-fiance'? - still gripping the rope she'd been clinging on to as they'd crossed worlds. Even though she was out cold, she wouldn't relinquish her grasp on the rope as Will gently shook her awake.

Her eyelids flickered softly and she started as if someone had pinched her. "W-Will?" she stuttered.

He nodded, and then the black cloud descended over him again. His eyes darkened and he turned away to go and see if any other crew members were to be found. The little bubble of joy swiftly burst in Elizabeth's heart, and her shoulders slumped.

As it turned out, Gibbs, Marty, Cotton (and his parrot), Pintel and Ragetti were the only other men on board. All were shaken by this strange turn of events, and in their alarm and uncertanty they all jabbed accusing fingers at Barbossa, the man who'd steered them there.

"Ye can not blame me fer something I didn't do!" he protested fiercely "Ye said ye needed a captain that had been ter death n' back, and I did what I could."

Then his eyes widened and narrowed as he faced Tia Dalma. "I'd have thought you'd be able to take us ter the Locker, of all people!"

Tia Dalma glared back with equal fire, eyes flashing. "Ya didn't ask for ma help, so I did not give it to ya." Then she sighed. "But I admit, Barbossa, it was an easy mistake ta make. De reach between worlds is unsertan and is constantly shiftin'."

Barbossa made a "hmpf" noise and nodded. His eyes brightened though when a familiar face scampered from the shadows of the deck and clambered up his shoulder. He tenderly stroked Jack the monkey's furry little head with one gnarled finger, somewhat comforted by the presence of his pet.

"Well, what'd we do now?" asked Pintel with a shrug.

"I think we ought ter explore that land over there," said Ragetti, pointing to the forest that whispered softly in the wind. He shrugged too. "We might as well do somethink."

"Master Ragetti be right," agreed Barbossa. "Let's go."

"But have your weapons ready, mates," Gibbs added, his hand instinctivly going for the waterskin of rum that was no longer there. "Who knows what we'll find in this odd place."

They anchored the ship and took two rowboats to shore. Their wooden hullsscraped as they slid over the pale grey, crumbling pebbles that littered the riverbank. Their footsteps crunched over the stones as they cautiously edgedtowards the forest. Barbossa inhaled long and deep; the scent of sap and mist was heavy here.

But no sooner had they entered the shade of the trees, Will paused. "Stop!" he hissed.

The pirates did so, but frowned. Will seemed to focus on something far away, head titled to one side, a frown slowly creasing his forehead.

"What the blazes-?" Barbossa began.

"Quiet!" Will demanded."Don't you hear that?"

"Hear what?" said Marty clutching his gun tighter.

Will strode forward and leaped onto a mossy rock, where he stood still again. The faint sounds of footsteps scuffling the undergrowth reached his ears, and quieter still came the clang of steel upon steel.

Then a new sound split the calm: a deep, resonate bellow that was neither human nor animal. This time all the pirates heard.

"Uh-oh" squawed Cotton's parrot as it flapped it's iridescent wings nervously.

"That sounded like a horn" said Elizabeth thoughtfully.

"Let's go!" ordered Barbossa, drawing his sword and half running-half limping up the slope towards the west. The rest of the crew followed, weaving between the shafts of sunlight and stiff-barked trees, drawing closer to the first creatures in the other realm.


	2. Chapter 2

_Huzzah! Chapter two is now up! For all my lovely, patient readers and reviewers, I am so sorry for not updating earlier, but exams have pretty much dragged me under. _

_But because you've all been so nice, I decided to update one more time. I don't think I'll be able to update again for a couple of weeks (please don't kill me) but I promise it'll be good. _

_Oh yes, and sorry if the scene isn't accurate, I've not seen LOTR for ages (must watch it soon) so yeah. And oh yes, you MUST tell me if you don't like what happens in this chapter. If you disagree I can always change it._

_Anyway, less talk, more reading. Let's roll!_

Chapter 2 ~

The pirate crew swiftly trudged up the hill, panting as they gained height up the steep incline. Ochre coloured leaves masked their heavy footfalls as they darted between the tall slender trees and through alternating strips of shade and fading sunlight. They passed strange crumbling ruins of gritty grey stone resembling flights of cracked stairs, decaying pillars and even a head sunken deep into the forest mud, its face chiselled by the weather.

As they ran higher up the hill, the sound of battle intensified. The ringing clang and clash of steel and the occasional animalistic grunt grew louder and louder. They were now even close enough to hear the dirt scuffed up by a frenzy of rapid feet.

"Why are we even going up here anyway?" asked Elizabeth between pants, a disgruntled frown on her face. "We can't just throw ourselves into a fight. It could be dangerous!"

"Aye, but that's the fun of it!" Barbossa retorted with a grin.

"But we don't even know who's fighting who?" Elizabeth pressed.

"We'll find out in a minute, lass" said Gibbs, cocking his pistol. The others quickly drew their weapons, ready for impact.

The crew staggered to a halt as the hill suddenly dipped down into a shallow ditch which created a clearing in the forest. They gasped and froze in unison.

In the middle of the clearing a lone man stood with a long blade gleaming in the weak sunlight, roaring as he parried blows and hacked into the meat of his foes. The foes in question were tall, brutish beats as ugly as sin, and although humanoid were anything but that. They growled as they lunged out their flat iron blades at the sandy-haired warrior, dark blood spewing from their wounds as the man fought back fiercely. A slender ivory horn swung at his hip, cloven in two.

There was a moment's hesitation before Barbossa let out a coarse shout and half-ran half-staggered down the slight slope, followed after a second's delay by Will and Elizabeth and the rest of the crew.

The ugly creatures stopped in their tracks, temporarily stunned by the new human force, as did the warrior but only for a heartbeat before he resumed the fight. He flinched at the strange crack of pistols as their bullets streaked from the barrels and smashed through the Uruk's rough hide, amazed when they fell down instantly as if struck by lightning.

Elizabeth plunged her sword into the nearest Uruk-hai which squealed as it died, then swivelled around to block a blow from another. Their swords clanged on impact and she gritted her teeth against the monster's great strength, and gasped when her opponent savagely pushed her back and swiped at her. It just about missed her, but the blade scraped her stomach and left a thin line of red. She was about to block a new attack, but with a flash of fear she found the blade was coming at her too fast to block- till saved by Will, who stabbed it from behind. Elizabeth nodded weakly at Will, and he returned the action, before turning around and scouring the area for more foes.

A ferocious roar from the trees alerted them to the presence of yet more reinforcements. A stout man with a thick ginger beard came rushing from the dappled forest, swinging his huge axe; two tall men were hot on his heels, one slicing into Uruks with his long sword, the other firing arrows into the fray.

Within a few seconds of fierce fiery combat, the Uruks were mown down, the few survivors fleeing into the woods with angry snarls. The stout man laughed a short sharp chuckle as the last Uruk faded into the trees.

The crew stood panting deeply amid the corpses of the Uruks, their adrenaline-fuelled blood rushing in their ears as their rapid hearts eventually slowed down. Barbossa wiped a smudge of sweat from his brow and readjusted his askew hat.

"Well, not bad fer a first day past World's End" he chuckled. The smile then died on his lips when he and the crew found themselves face to face with the other men, all of which had the weapons trained on them.

Silence dispelled all noise like a candle snuffed out as the two very different groups of people absorbed each other's appearances.

The man who at first had been fighting alone had strawberry-blond hair and a slight beard, his blue eyes glinting with suspicion but lingering with pain. He was finely dressed in a long dark blue jerkin and crimson shirt, with gauntlets bearing the emblem of a tree on his wrists.

At his side was a slightly taller and older man, dark haired and ruggedly handsome despite being covered with sweat and black blood. His grey-blue eyes were calm yet vigilante as he took in the crew.

Bearing a fine pale bow was a beautiful man, his ears curiously pointed, his chin clean-shaven unlike the other men. Long silky blond hair that was braided sloped down his back. Elizabeth suppressed a gasp, and Will's jaw twitched. Apart from the colour of his eyes and hair, this man looked remarkably like the blacksmith.

The shortest of the group clutched his axe tightly, his dark eyes set deep into his gruff face. His armour was elaborate and appeared very heavy.

Lastly, there were two, new unlikely figures. Their size would have given the impression that they were children, but their faces told otherwise as even though they were young, they were defiantly adults. They both had light brown curly hair and wore no shoes, their bare feet lightly dusted with hair. They stood a few feet back from their companions, but had their short daggers drawn.

Finally, the tense silence was broken and the dark-haired man spoke. "Who are you, and what allegiance do you follow?" he asked, his voice soft but firm.

Barbossa glanced at his crew. Gibbs shrugged and his hand instinctively went for his rum-filled water skin. The others didn't know what to say either.

Barbossa scowled. _Why do I have to do everythin'? _he thought.

"Me name is Captain Barbossa," he said carefully. "And this 'ere be me crew. As for allegiance, we follow none but our own."

The stout man gripped his axe tighter still. "Spies of Sauron, I suspect."

"We aren't spies" protested Barbossa, raising his sword. "We're naught but honest pirates who've lost their way."

"Pirates!" said the bowman, turning to his companion. "Do you think they could be Haradrim from the south, or Corsairs?"

The finely dressed man shook his head. "No, I do not think so. I have seen Haradrim forces before, and these people appear nothing like them. Though I could be wrong." He narrowed his eyes.

"We don't mean you any harm," Will quickly said. "If we were your enemies, then why would we have helped you?"

"Who are you then?" said the sandy haired man. "Speak quickly!"

"Allow me to explain" said a new voice.

All heads turned to watch Tia Dalma melt from the trees. It was only then that the crew of the _Pearl_ realised that she had not been present in the skirmish. She strode noiselessly to both of the groups, dark eyes gleaming. Some strange presence emanated from her, smelling of sorcery and something mysterious, like mist over the sea.

The stout ginger-bearded man muttered something that sounded like "witch" to the bowman, who nodded very slightly.

"We are nat from dis world," Tia Dalma explained. "But from a world beyand."

"Aman?" whispered the bowman.

Tia Dalma shook her head. "No, somewhere farther, some place not on any map. Ya see, all worlds meet in one way or anoter. By mistake, we ave fallen into yars."

"That's what I said!" Barbossa said, but a sharp glance from the voodoo lady silenced him.

She turned to face the other group. "We are friends, and we mean ya no harm."

The dark haired man stared at her for a long moment, then slowly nodded. He sheathed his sword and looked at the _Black Pearl's_ crew. "Very well. We shall take your story to be true, and you are out friends, for now. But you are still strangers in our land, and so can not be trusted."

The stout man snorted and leaned heavily on his huge axe, and the finely dressed man didn't look too convinced but lowered his weapon.

"Thankee, fer not killin' us" said Barbossa, stiffly nodding.

The swordsman smiled faintly, but then stiffened and turned to face the sandy-haired man. "Boromir, Frodo said you attempted to take the Ring. Is this true?"

His companion lowered his head and drew back in shame. "I- I couldn't resist it!" he stammered shakily. "Aragorn, I swear I tried not to, I would never have hurt Frodo. But its power held too great a control over my mind… please forgive me."

The man known as Aragorn was about to reply, when Boromir interrupted him. "Frodo! Where is he?"

"I let him go" said Aragorn.

He would have said more if Elizabeth hadn't just cried out in pain, clutching her stomach. With a soft gasp, she withdrew her fingers and found them wet with glistening ruby-red blood. She moaned and her knees buckled beneath her.

"Elizabeth!" Will said, catching her before she hit the forest floor.

Suddenly, whilst everyone was distracted, there was a muffled twang and a sharp hiss as an arrow punched through the air that was aimed at Boromir…

_Cliff hanger! Yeah, sorry if my writing isn't up to very good standard. But I hope you enjoyed it!_


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